History of American Religion, 1865 to Present will consider the varieties of American religious experience while keeping in mind the importance of pluralism in the U.S. context.
Having taken a semester long course on religion in America and getting a more finite look at religion in America, it was interesting to read Patrick Allit’s Religion in America Since 1945, to get a feel for what one historian feels are the most important aspects to discuss. I did enjoy the brief background he [...]
In reading Religion in America since 1945 and the blogs on our site it seems that we all disagree with something Allit said about religion. I disagree with his representation of the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. To read Allitt’s quote, one would think that Bonhoeffer believed that Christianity was going to go away, replaced by [...]
In his sweeping portrayal of religious expression and identity, both traditional and non-traditional, in the United States from post-World War II through the tragic events of September 11, 2001, author Patrick Allitt depicts the varied transformative nature of the American religious experience juxtaposed against the evolving ecclesiastical, social and cultural climate of the mid [...]
Patrick Allitt’s focus on paradoxes is an interesting angle to use as a starting point for his study of religion in
America between 1945 and 2001. People’s individual actions often involve a certain amount of paradox, so it seems certain that the trend would hold true for their religious practices, and would also hold true for [...]
I agree with Allitt’s argument that between WWII to 9/11 WTC attacks, American religion has become more diverse, politicized, and complex. Any knucklehead knows that American religion is diverse, and has become more diverse since WWII.
It seems to me that this book is more about Catholics since WWII than any other religious groups. [...]
My brief note on Allitt is about the section on radical theology in chapter 4. I hadn’t realized Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the progenitor of radicalism, but I found the ideas of the theologians as presented by Allitt to be quite interesting. In Allitt’s description, it seems almost postmodern Christianity: ”…the concept of “God” and such [...]
Allitt‘s book is a fast paced summary of the religious landscape in America after 1945. As such it presents a composite, complex picture of the post war pluralistic American society where the religiosity of the political life clashes with the concept of the church-state separation, where the highly religious lives alongside with the secular and [...]
Allitt seems to have intended his book as a broad, though not comprehensive, survey for academics and interested bystanders alike. He admits in the introduction that he chose to develop certain themes at the expense of others, while he hopes that those who are annoyed with the exclusion of other subjects or intrigued with his general overview might [...]
The one constant, as seen in Allitt’s book, regarding the expansion and growth of American religion, especially Christianity, was the existence of national turmoil. In other words, through times of turmoil, did religion expand and gain tremendous influence. For instance, in the aftermath of the Second World War and the pending Cold War, the Red [...]